Baby osprey electrocuted just weeks after it was rescued

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Wildlife officials say a baby osprey saved in a rescue operation that was caught on video last month was recently electrocuted when it tried perching on a utility pole.

The Asbury Park Press (http://on.app.com/2aA1N8i) reports the bird was about 7 weeks old in mid-July when officials noticed some fishing line on its neck in Berkeley Township. Rescuers were able to remove the line a day later. They named the bird "39/D" for the identification marking on a red band that was placed on it.

But the bird was found dead about two weeks later near a utility pole, about 700 feet from its nest.

Officials say it's not uncommon for birds to die this way, noting the animals see the lines as a great place to perch near the shore.